No Floods
by fbi-woman
Summary: Post-ep continuation for part 1 of The Long Blue Line.


Title: No Floods

Author: fbi-woman

Rating: K – sorry, nothing steamy this time around.

Type: Cold Case, Lilly/Scotty

Spoilers: The Long Blue Line – Part 1

Disclaimer: If I had any ownership or control over these two, or any aspect of the show, what I write would be on screen instead of where you're reading it right now.

Summary: Post-ep continuation for part 1 of The Long Blue Line.

A/N: Okay. Now, I'm gonna tell you right now that not all of what happens in this story is actually possible lol but I did do a lot of research to try and make it as realistic as I could given the storyline I chose. This was originally NOT going to be a oneshot, but due to time constraints I'm thinking it will be. I may come back to it and add more after I see the second part of the episode, but I'm not 100% sure. Her location is also a little vague since I have absolutely no idea where she is beyond being in the water, so I'm writing under the assumption that it would be easy for the others to identify the route she likely took.

* * *

_No matter lightning or thunder, buckets of rain water_

_You can't flood this town_

_In a world unknown, you've gotta hold your own_

_And you can't stop me_

_You're never, ever, ever gonna stop me now_

~*No Floods - Stefani Germanotta (aka Lady GaGa)*~

* * *

As consciousness dawned on Lilly Rush, it became quite apparent that something was not right. She was cold… why was she cold? Why was her pillow so hard? Did she leave the water running? Forcing her eyes open, she realized the situation was far worse than her foggy mind had envisioned. Her head was resting against the car window, and water was all she could see in the dim light. Water was seeping into the car through every possible opening, already filling it up past her waist. That's when she remembered the terror on the road; headlights behind her, persistent impacts to the back of her car, and then she was through the guard rail and sailing towards the water below. Taking several deep breaths, she willed herself to remain calm and think rationally. She needed to get out, and fast, before the car sank any further. Seatbelt now unbuckled, she braced herself and closed her hand around the door handle. On a silent count of three, she pulled the handle and pushed on the door with every ounce of strength her aching body had. The door opened a crack, just enough to send more water cascading in, before it slammed shut again from the water pressure. _Shit. Okay, just try it again. You know how hard you need to push now._ Attempt after attempt failed until she was left weakened with significantly more water in the car. That's when she panicked.

Frantically she surveyed the inside of the car, looking for something, anything that she could use to prop the door open or at least show passersby where she was. As despair began to set in, her eyes came to rest on her cell phone, which had been catapulted forward as she fell and was now cradled between the dash and the windshield. The water was just now beginning to spill onto the dashboard, and she quickly snatched the phone before it was damaged any further. It was wet, but it might work. She pressed the button but the screen remained black. Again and again she pressed down on that little silver button, watching for any sign of life, and at last, the little green light flickered. It wasn't much, but it was all she had. Her fingers flew across the keypad as they dialed Scotty's number from memory then pressed the phone tightly against her ear as she listened hard. Through the crackling static she heard it: a faint ringing. She was trembling with fear, praying that Scotty would pick up, and tears pricked her eyes with each high pitched trill.

"Valens."

Her eyes widened. Did she really hear him or had she simply willed herself to think she heard a voice through the white noise?

"Scotty?"

"Lil? Where are you?"

"Scotty!" her voice cracked as the emotions broke free, "Scotty my car's sinking and I can't get out! Please come find me!"

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I was trying to call you and then a car came up behind me and pushed me off the bridge. I can't get out of the car, there's too much water!"

"I'm coming Lil, hold on."

"Hurry, Scotty" she pleaded, a sob finally escaping with the words.

"I will. Call me if anything happens okay?"

"My phone is wet, I don't know if I can."

"Uh, I'll call you when I'm almost there, okay?"

"Okay."

******

Scotty was already sprinting down the hall when he disconnected the call, his colleagues exchanging puzzled looks in his wake. Just as the PPD door closed behind him, his phone rang again and he grabbed it in a panic.

"Lil?"

"No, it's me", Vera's voice replied on the other end, "what the hell just happened?"

"There's some kind of accident, Lil said someone knocked her car off the road and she's stuck in the water."

"Some accident. She okay?"

"I don't know; I've never heard her like that. She was scared, man. I don't know how much air she's got left."

"Let us know when you've got her. We'll be on the way."

Scotty stuck his phone in the car's cup holder and pulled out into the fortunately empty street, a lead foot down on the accelerator. Street signs and traffic lights were all a blur as he raced across the city, trying to reach a destination that seemed so much further away than he remembered. He was tempted to call her right now, just to hear her voice for reassurance that she was still breathing, but he said he would call when he was almost there, and surely she would call him again if she was running out of time… right?

*****

Each minute felt like hours for Lilly, sitting alone in the rising water. She had long lost the battle against tears and was using all of her remaining willpower to stay calm. Now kneeling on the seat, she had been okay when the water had reached the bottom of her chest. She had even been okay when it rose to her shoulders, but now, as swirled just below her chin, her self-control was breaking into ruins. She couldn't wait much longer. Grabbing onto the seat's headrest, she held herself up as far as she could, trying to keep her head and the phone well above the water.

"Lil?"

"Scotty where are you?" There was no mistaking the desperation in her voice.

"Maybe five minutes away, how much room you got left?"

"It's up to my head," she cried, "I can't wait Scotty!"

"I'm going as fast as I can, you gotta hang on for me Lil."

"I can't!"

"Don't say that, yes you can."

"I'm so cold."

"I'll be there soon, I promise. Just try to stay calm. Do you have anything to break the window with?"

"I have my gun but if I shoot it out it, the water will send the glass back at me won't it?"

"I don't know. What about the butt of the gun? The glass would break in bigger pieces; it would be easier to dodge. If you can knock a hole in the corner, the force of the water might be enough to break the rest."

"I'll have to go under; I won't be able to keep the phone dry."

"I'm coming up to the bridge soon. Stay up as long as you can and I'll try to get there before it's full, but if I'm not there, then go under and try with the gun, okay?"

"But what if I can't break it?"

Silence. He was at a loss.

"Scotty? Scotty please, I don't want to die, you can't leave me down here!"

"I won't Lil. I'll find you no matter what."

"Please Scotty", she sobbed.

"I'm at the bridge, I'll be right there."

A ripple in the water splashed against her face, hitting the phone in the process.

"Scotty!" she spluttered, gasping for air. The static was louder now, she couldn't hear if there was a response. "Scotty? SCOTTY?"

But his voice never broke through, and there was no longer room to hold the phone above the water level. Letting it go, she reached for her gun and glanced down at the door as best she could, picking her target spot. The water was now only inches from the roof. As it crept up her cheeks, she took one final gulp of air and dropped back into her seat. But her movements were slowed by the water, and each time the gun connected with the glass, she was met with nothing but resistance. Her chest ached, her head felt light, and she knew she was out of time. The urge to inhale became too great, and had no choice but to surrender, looking helplessly out the window. Squinting, she thought she saw a shadow moving through the water, but before she could get a better look, everything went black.

*****

Scotty threw the car into park and leapt out the door, dashing around to the trunk where he kept his emergency tool kit. He needed something sharp to penetrate the glass. Grabbing a screwdriver and a small hammer, he stuffed both in his pockets, and dumped his shoes and jacket at the water's edge before diving into the cold river. It only took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and the looming shape of Lilly's car became visible further downstream. He swam until he was right next to the shape, then took a deep breath and plunged downwards. He quickly caught up to the car, peering in the window to see Lilly lying limp against the seat. Not wanting the glass to shatter so close to her face, he swam around to the passenger door and with two swift jabs of the screwdriver a crack appeared in the glass. One more strike and the glass broke. He reached for his partner, carefully lifting her through the window before he began his ascent towards the bank.

When they reached the water's surface he could hear sirens approaching and prayed it was an ambulance the team had called for Lil. He hauled her out of the water, and cradled her in his arms, tears of fear mingling with the water trickling down his face. What little colour she had in her pale complexion had all drained away, and her lips had a faint bluish tint. He listened for any breathing sounds, but the air around her was silent. Pressing his fingers against her neck, a wave of hope rushed through him to find a weak pulse. Gently placing her on her back, he immediately began CPR. Cycle after cycle with no response, and then suddenly, there was a cough and a sputter. Her eyes flew open and she shot upright, leaning to the side as she coughed up more water. He had never been more thankful in his life.

"God, Lil", he whispered, draping his arm over her shivering body.

Turning, she wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his neck, and dissolved into tears, her whole body shaking with each sob. Carefully he lifted her from the wet ground and carried her back to his car, setting her down his dry jacket and covering her with the blanket from his emergency kit. He held her close while the sirens grew louder, the flashing lights appearing down the street, and all the words unsaid kept running through his mind. Too many times he had almost lost her, and each time he came closer to never seeing those brilliant blue eyes again. How many more times was he going to watch her all but slip away without ever saying the one thing he wanted to tell her most?

"Hey Lil?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me something?"

"That depends."

"Promise me that next time you're doing some of this creative detecting, you'll tell me what's going on _before_ you take off alone?"

With a chuckle she leaned back to look at him. "Sure Scotty, I promise."

"Good", he replied, daringly reaching out to brush his thumb across her cheek, "'cause I can't watch you get hurt anymore, and I sure as hell can't lose you."

An ambulance and squad cars all pulled up at once to surround them, and in an instant there were EMTs dashing towards them. But before he released her from his arms, he held her close against him and whispered softly in her ear, "I love you, Lil."

* * *

A/N: Soooo yeah, originally it continued after this, but it's 4:40am on Saturday and I have a concert to go to tonight (Keith Urban if anyone was wondering) so there is definitely not time to write the rest before Sunday night's episode. Sorry about that. As said before, I might consider adding more, but as of now, consider this a oneshot. Anyways, I hope it wasn't TOO cliché and ridiculously unrealistic. I tried lol, but there's only so much you can do to comply with research before your story becomes rather unexciting. I hadn't planned on writing this at all, so a thank you goes to FloatingAmoeba for encouraging me to do so. The song part of the inspiration was kind of half random, I know, but I love Lady GaGa lol and I was listening to the song and thinking about Cold Case and... you can guess where this is going. Now remember everyone, reviews make the world go round ;).


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